Pointee
In some programming languages, const is a type qualifier (a keyword applied to a data type) that indicates that the data is read-only. While this can be used to declare constants, in the C family of languages differs from similar constructs in other languages in being part of the ''type,'' and thus has complicated behavior when combined with pointers, references, composite data types, and type-checking. In other languages, the data is not in a single memory location, but copied at compile time on each use. Languages which utilize it include C, C++, D, JavaScript, Julia, and Rust. Introduction When applied in an object declaration, it indicates that the object is a constant: its value may not be changed, unlike a variable. This basic use – to declare constants – has parallels in many other languages. However, unlike in other languages, in the C family of languages the const is part of the ''type'', not part of the ''object''. For example, in C, declares an object x ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pointer (computer Programming)
In computer science, a pointer is an object in many programming languages that stores a memory address. This can be that of another value located in computer memory, or in some cases, that of memory-mapped computer hardware. A pointer ''references'' a location in memory, and obtaining the value stored at that location is known as ''dereferencing'' the pointer. As an analogy, a page number in a book's index could be considered a pointer to the corresponding page; dereferencing such a pointer would be done by flipping to the page with the given page number and reading the text found on that page. The actual format and content of a pointer variable is dependent on the underlying computer architecture. Using pointers significantly improves performance for repetitive operations, like traversing iterable data structures (e.g. strings, lookup tables, control tables and tree structures). In particular, it is often much cheaper in time and space to copy and dereference pointers th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Programming Language
A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming language is usually split into the two components of syntax (form) and semantics (meaning), which are usually defined by a formal language. Some languages are defined by a specification document (for example, the C programming language is specified by an ISO Standard) while other languages (such as Perl) have a dominant implementation that is treated as a reference. Some languages have both, with the basic language defined by a standard and extensions taken from the dominant implementation being common. Programming language theory is the subfield of computer science that studies the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages. Definitions There are many considerations when defini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Declaration (computer Programming)
In computer programming, a declaration is a language construct specifying identifier properties: it declares a word's (identifier's) meaning."A declaration specifies the interpretation and attributes of a set of identifiers. A ''definition'' of an identifier is a declaration for that identifier that: * for an object ariable or constant causes storage to be reserved for that object; * for a function, includes the function body; * for an enumeration constant, is the (only) declaration of the identifier; * for a typedef name, is the first (or only) declaration of the identifier." C11 specification, 6.7: Declarations, paragraph 5. Declarations are most commonly used for functions, variables, constants, and classes, but can also be used for other entities such as enumerations and type definitions. Beyond the name (the identifier itself) and the kind of entity (function, variable, etc.), declarations typically specify the data type (for variables and constants), or the type signat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Compile-time
In computer science, compile time (or compile-time) describes the time window during which a computer program is compiled. The term is used as an adjective to describe concepts related to the context of program compilation, as opposed to concepts related to the context of program execution ( runtime). For example, ''compile-time requirements'' are programming language requirements that must be met by source code before compilation and ''compile-time properties'' are properties of the program that can be reasoned about during compilation. The actual length of time it takes to compile a program is usually referred to as ''compilation time''. Compile time/Early binding vs Run time The determination of execution model have been set during the compile time stage. Run time- the method of execution and allocation - have been set during the run time and are based on the run time dynamicity. Overview Most compilers have at least the following compiler phases (which therefore occur at c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Computer Memory
In computing, memory is a device or system that is used to store information for immediate use in a computer or related computer hardware and digital electronic devices. The term ''memory'' is often synonymous with the term ''primary storage'' or '' main memory''. An archaic synonym for memory is store. Computer memory operates at a high speed compared to storage that is slower but less expensive and higher in capacity. Besides storing opened programs, computer memory serves as disk cache and write buffer to improve both reading and writing performance. Operating systems borrow RAM capacity for caching so long as not needed by running software. If needed, contents of the computer memory can be transferred to storage; a common way of doing this is through a memory management technique called ''virtual memory''. Modern memory is implemented as semiconductor memory, where data is stored within memory cells built from MOS transistors and other components on an integrated c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Call-by-value
In a programming language, an evaluation strategy is a set of rules for evaluating expressions. The term is often used to refer to the more specific notion of a ''parameter-passing strategy'' that defines the kind of value that is passed to the function for each parameter (the ''binding strategy'') and whether to evaluate the parameters of a function call, and if so in what order (the ''evaluation order''). The notion of reduction strategy is distinct, although some authors conflate the two terms and the definition of each term is not widely agreed upon. To illustrate, executing a function call f(a,b) may first evaluate the arguments a and b, store the results in references or memory locations ref_a and ref_b, then evaluate the function's body with those references passed in. This gives the function the ability to look up the argument values, to modify them via assignment as if they were local variables, and to return values via the references. This is the call-by-reference evalua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type Conversion
In computer science, type conversion, type casting, type coercion, and type juggling are different ways of changing an expression from one data type to another. An example would be the conversion of an integer value into a floating point value or its textual representation as a string, and vice versa. Type conversions can take advantage of certain features of type hierarchies or data representations. Two important aspects of a type conversion are whether it happens ''implicitly'' (automatically) or ''explicitly'', and whether the underlying data representation is converted from one representation into another, or a given representation is merely ''reinterpreted'' as the representation of another data type. In general, both primitive and compound data types can be converted. Each programming language has its own rules on how types can be converted. Languages with strong typing typically do little implicit conversion and discourage the reinterpretation of representations, whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type Coercion
In computer science, type conversion, type casting, type coercion, and type juggling are different ways of changing an expression from one data type to another. An example would be the conversion of an integer value into a floating point value or its textual representation as a string, and vice versa. Type conversions can take advantage of certain features of type hierarchies or data representations. Two important aspects of a type conversion are whether it happens ''implicitly'' (automatically) or ''explicitly'', and whether the underlying data representation is converted from one representation into another, or a given representation is merely ''reinterpreted'' as the representation of another data type. In general, both primitive and compound data types can be converted. Each programming language has its own rules on how types can be converted. Languages with strong typing typically do little implicit conversion and discourage the reinterpretation of representations, whil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Container (abstract Data Type)
In computer science, a container is a class or a data structureEntry ''data structure'' in the Encyclopædia Britannica (2009Online entryAccessed 4 Oct 2011. whose instances are collections of other objects. In other words, they store objects in an organized way that follows specific access rules. The size of the container depends on the number of objects (elements) it contains. Underlying (inherited) implementations of various container types may vary in size, complexity and type of language, but in many cases they provide flexibility in choosing the right implementation for any given scenario. Container data structures are commonly used in many types of programming languages. Function and properties Containers can be characterized by the following three properties: * ''access'', that is the way of accessing the objects of the container. In the case of arrays, access is done with the array index. In the case of stacks, access is done according to the LIFO (last in, first o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Return Value
In computer programming, a return statement causes execution to leave the current subroutine and resume at the point in the code immediately after the instruction which called the subroutine, known as its return address. The return address is saved by the calling routine, today usually on the process's call stack or in a register. Return statements in many programming languages allow a function to specify a return value to be passed back to the code that called the function. Overview In C and C++, return ''exp''; (where ''exp'' is an expression) is a statement that tells a function to return execution of the program to the calling function, and report the value of ''exp''. If a function has the return type void, the return statement can be used without a value, in which case the program just breaks out of the current function and returns to the calling one. In Pascal there is no return statement. (However, in newer Pascals, the Exit(''exp''); can be used to return a value ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Type Signature
In computer science, a type signature or type annotation defines the inputs and outputs for a function, subroutine or method. A type signature includes the number, types, and order of the arguments contained by a function. A type signature is typically used during overload resolution for choosing the correct definition of a function to be called among many overloaded forms. Examples C/C++ In C and C++, the type signature is declared by what is commonly known as a function prototype. In C/C++, a function declaration reflects its use; for example, a function pointer with the signature would be called as: char c; double d; int retVal = (*fPtr)(c, d); Erlang In Erlang, type signatures may be optionally declared, as: -spec(function_name(type1(), type2(), ...) -> out_type()). For example: -spec(is_even(number()) -> boolean()). Haskell A type signature in Haskell generally takes the following form: functionName :: arg1Type -> arg2Type -> ... -> argNType Notice that t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |